Sacrifices
by FortRider
Summary: What would you give to clean the galaxy of a great evil. One shot. Briefest hints of SheppardWeir WARNING: Character Death


AN: A brief note, this is un-betaed, for various reasons, though no offence to my wonderful beta. I apologise now if there are any big mistakes, I have proof-read this myself, but things can always slip through.

Sacrifices

John placed the jumper down in a clearing not far from the Torstan village. They were all dressed in Athosian clothes so they could pass as traders. The Athosians had traded with the Torstans for many years, but they were intolerant of strangers, so Teyla didn't think they'd be very co-operative if the team arrived in Earth clothes.

Rodney, thoroughly uncomfortable in a tunic, decided to stay in the jumper and John didn't argue. He was present purely because they needed a second pilot and all the others were busy. As he wasn't the most diplomatic of people, his staying behind was only a benefit.

As they walked away, twitching his top for the hundredth time, he grabbed his data pack and tried to get on with what he'd planned to do before being dragged off on this stupid mission. Very quickly, though, he got bored of that as well, so he opened up the chess program, and played that instead.

His attention only returned to the rest of the world when an alarm sounded on one of the control panels. He reached over and checked the readings, predicting the answer. He was right. A Wraith culling fleet had just dropped out of hyperspace. He touched his ear-piece, and hoping he didn't catch them at a really bad time, started, "McKay to Sheppard, come in."

There was a pause, and then a slightly annoyed Colonel replied. "This better be important, Rodney, you nearly just blew our cover."

"Does a Wraith culling fleet qualify?" Replied Rodney acerbically.

"Ah. Yes that'll do. How long?"

"Ten, maybe fifteen minutes before they enter orbit."

"All right. We're nearly done here. We should get back in enough time. Sheppard out."

Rodney watched as the fleet moved into orbit, and made the jumper ready to launch as soon as John, Teyla and Cadman returned. When he saw the darts begin to descend, he got on the radio again. "A little speed would be good."

"We're nearly there. Sit tight." John's speech came through heavy breathing.

Rodney cloaked the jumper as soon as he heard the whine of the darts. Almost immediately afterwards, he heard one fly ahead, presumably looking for anyone who'd strayed too far from the village.

The team burst into the clearing at full pelt. At the same time, a swarm of darts descended from the mountain behind the jumper. Rodney readied some drones as the team looked like they would easily be swept up. However, as they moved past the base of the mountain, an energy pulse burst from it and engulfed the darts.

The wave, well off all the scales of even the Atlantian equipment in the jumper, quickly spread out and enveloped the entire planet. In its wake, the team lay prone on the floor, each assuming they had been taken up in the darts.

Only when a slightly concerned and very excited Rodney came over did they begin to move.

"Did you see that? It just wiped away the hive ships and all the darts."

"And we're fine as well, Rodney, thank you for asking." Put in John, still face down on the floor.

"Oh. Sorry." He offered a hand to Cadman and Teyla, then John, sagging slightly as they pulled themselves up.

"Right. Thanks." Added John, slightly appeased. "Now, what _was_ that thing?"

"Well, what readings I got, before the sensors maxed out, seemed to show it was an energy wave similar to that from the device that was used to eradicate the Replicators from the Milky Way." Puzzled faces on everyone in front of him made him stop. "Have none of you read that mission report?" He sighed and then continued.

"Alright. A brief history lesson. The Replicators were a robotic race that could use almost any raw material to build more of themselves, hence their name. They were the Azgard's greatest enemy. You know the Azgard?"

"Hermiod's people?" Asked Teyla.

"Yes, right. Anyway, SG-1 found a device that essentially made them all fall to bits. Eventually it had to be dismantled because Anubis tried to wipe out all life in the galaxy with it. However, _that_," he pointed at the mountain where the wave had originated, "is the same, except tuned to Wraith life and technology, and so, if we can set up the gates correctly, we can use it to rid ourselves of the Wraith for good."

Rodney's voice had been getting faster and faster until the last sentence had been delivered in one breath. He now waited, a little breathless, for John's response.

"Cool."

Rodney rolled his eyes. "We need to go see that device."

"Uh huh. Somehow I guessed that would be the next thing you would say. Are we finished in the village?"

"They have nothing to trade, so yes." Replied Teyla.

"Right. Well, I'll report in to Dr Weir. Rodney, seeing as you're itching to go and investigate," the physicist was practically bouncing, "you and Teyla can go up there now. Cadman, you and I will catch up with them later."

Everyone nodded and got ready to move out. Never had Rodney been so keen to go on a long walk.

-----

Rodney looked like a child who'd been let loose in the toy store. He moved from one console to the next, trying to decipher everything at once.

"Wouldn't it be better to do one thing at a time?"

"Uh huh." He replied, not really listening. He only stopped rushing around when he got absorbed in a particularly interesting panel.

He was still there when John and Cadman arrived.

"How's he doing?" Asked John as he moved over to Teyla.

"He spent the first ten minutes looking at everything, and then settled on that one control panel."

Full Rodney mode then?" Replied John, grinning.

"Definitely." Replied Teyla, also smiling.

As if he heard them, Rodney moved to where they were standing.

"Finished?" Asked John, knowing full well the answer.

"Not even close, but I think I've got the basics."

"Well?" John asked, submitting to the inevitable explanation.

"That," he pointed at the largest console, "controls the frequency of the wave, so we don't touch it. That one controls most of the rest of the stuff. As for that one, I haven't a clue." He pointed to the mostly bare panel with two pairs of handprints and a small amount of Ancient writing on it.

"Right. Okay. Well, be ready to move out in ten minutes. We've been called back to Atlantis."

"But! There's so much to do here."

"Oh! Quit whining already. From what I've seen, I'll personally recommend a full team comes back here, but not before we go home and _you_ rest."

Rodney grumbled but co-operated, and soon they were back in the jumper and heading home.

-----

Elizabeth didn't hesitate to send in another team after the briefing. Now John and Teyla were sitting, completely bored, while Rodney, Zelenka and a good proportion of the other scientists poured over every centimetre of the device. Elizabeth, and a couple of other linguists were working outside on pictures of the writing on the various panels.

After a couple of hours, when John and Teyla came back from a patrol due to sheer boredom, the team leaders came together to discuss their progress.

"We've managed to translate most of the writing. Most of it is just instructions on how it works, nothing we didn't already know from the report on SG-1's device. The writing on that unusual panel is mostly in code, but the first line says 'Those who give their power willingly can cleanse the galaxy.'"

Teyla looking at the writing and pointed out the word translated as 'power'. "Does that not word not mean 'life'?"

"No," replied Elizabeth quickly. "It's spelt almost the same."

John looked sharply at Elizabeth because of the speed of her answer. If he didn't know any better he would think she was lying to them.

"That fits." Said Rodney, and for a moment relief flickered across Elizabeth's face. "We found a port for a ZPM by that panel."

John continued to look at Elizabeth and she stared coldly back. "Problem?" She asked.

"Not at all." John replied coolly.

Rodney looked between the two of them, and then continued. "We've had a good look at things, and its promising. Given enough power we think the wave could cover the whole of Pegasus. As it moves through subspace, we could sweep the whole galaxy in under a week."

"What's the catch?" Asked John, finally looking away from Elizabeth, but still concerned about her sincerity.

"It would deplete a fully charged ZPM..."

"...And we don't have a spare, let alone a fully charged one."

"Didn't the other one translate through the gate?" Asked Elizabeth. "Wouldn't that reduce the power requirement?"

"Yes, but this one doesn't. I think its because the wave is so different, and besides, we don't have Ba'al here to dial all the gates at once."

John sighed as their best chance of defeating the Wraith slipped away.

"Power shouldn't be a problem, though."

"Oh? Yes? We'll just find a ZPM under that leaf over there, shall we?"

"No..." Replied Rodney, slowly, treating John like a small child. "On Earth, in a place called Area 51, they're building one."

John rolled his eyes. "Thank you for letting us know _now_ Rodney. Beforehand would have been more useful."

"Sorry, I was sure I sent a memo around."

"Well you didn't."

"Gentlemen..." Said Elizabeth, warningly, heading off the potential argument.

"Right. Well. From the last report I received, they're pretty much ready for a field trial. This seems like the perfect opportunity."

"You've got the go-ahead from me, but you'll have to convince the SGC yourself. Oh, and thanks for _finally_ letting us know about the ZPMs." She headed back out to her team.

Rodney, watching her go, said, "I was sure I told everyone."

-----

Rodney had little difficulty persuading the SGC to release him two experimental ZPMs and so he was back on the Torstan's planet the next day, with John, Teyla and Zelenka.

Rodney and Zelenka had been working for five hours straight while John and Teyla watched, wondering why they'd bothered coming.

As they finally got the system working to their liking, they fitted the xZPM. It looked a lot blander than the originals, plain coloured and bland. Zelenka lowered it in gently, but it thumped down the last inch when he didn't have anything left to hold onto.

"Careful!" Snapped Rodney. Zelenka sighed. Rodney'd been becoming more and more irritable as they worked, and for no obvious reason. Everything had gone perfectly.

John, however, knew the reason. He grabbed a powerbar from his pack and moved over to him, "Rodney, eat this."

"Not now." Replied the physicist, shortly.

"Rodney McKay, you _will_ eat this or I _will_ knock you on you ass and force it down your throat. You are becoming irritable and generally more annoying and that usually means your blood sugar is somewhere in your boots. Now eat before you faint and I have to carry you back in and leave you in Dr Beckett's care." Tirade finished, John shoved the bar at the man, who caught it clumsily, and walked back to where he had been sitting.

Rodney, slightly stunned by the outburst, gratefully unwrapped the bar and crammed the bar into his mouth. He turned back to the main controls, where Zelenka joined him.

"I think we are ready. Shall we begin?"

"Yes, lets." Replied Rodney, feeling better already.

They turned to enter a few commands into the main console, and after a little coaxing from John, the device began its firing cycle. Then they rushed to the jumper landed outside to check its sensor readings.

After the initial whiteout as the energy wave passed the jumper, the sensors tracked its progress out into the system, but it dissipated before reaching interstellar space.

Rodney sighed. "Well that's that."

He returned inside and examined the xZPM. "Depleted." He said to the others as they followed him in."

"Is there nothing we can do?"

"No. That was the most powerful energy source we have. We knew this device was still experimental. Obviously it's not as finished as we thought." He shrugged despondently.

"Can you finish it?"

"I'm not even sure how what's here works."

"Never mind, Rodney. Next time it'll work." John decided not to use the various gibes about being a genius against him. The man looked depressed enough as it was.

-----

Rodney's depression was contagious, and so the entire was extraordinarily quiet when they returned. Elizabeth decided not to comment, guessing the reason for the gloom, and let the team go their own ways.

Rodney shut himself in his lab, and by mutual agreement the rest of the scientists left him alone. John headed to his office to work on his paperwork. Even he was in no mood to cheer things up.

-----

Caldwell looked out at the stars from his chair on the Daedalus' bridge. The Wraith hive ship they had been tracking was only a faint point in the distance as they kept as far away as possible while staying in the Azgard sensor's range.

They jumped to hyperspace in time with the hive ship and emerged near the Torstan's home planet. Caldwell, having received the report about the Ancient device, released a sigh of relief. There would soon be one less Wraith ship in the galaxy.

They watched the darts descend to the planet, and waited for the weapon to fire. Caldwell became slightly concerned when the darts approached the city unimpeded.

As the culling began, he made his decision and ordered the Daedalus to jump the distance into weapons range. They caught the hive ship completely by surprise and made short work of it and its fleet of darts. They then called up Atlantis and informed them of the problem.

When she received the report, Elizabeth quickly sent Rodney and a team to investigate.

-----

"What happened to the weapon?" Asked Elizabeth, leading the debriefing once they'd returned.

"Scans showed the power source to have been depleted _before_ our experiment. We're not sure what that supply was, but we know we definitely can't recharge it." Replied Rodney.

"Will a ZPM work?"

"No. It would only last a couple of shots, if it lasts one. Unfortunately, I don't think there's anything we can do."

"We can't just leave them!" Protested John. "The Wraith could return any day."

"He is right." Added Teyla. "The Wraith will send another fleet, because we destroyed the last one."

"There has to be something we can do?"

John caught Rodney throwing a glance at Elizabeth and saw her shake her heard almost imperceptibly.

"No." Replied Rodney, simply.

"Evacuation?"

"We don't have room." Said Elizabeth.

John finally excepted he was beaten. "I don't like this at all."

"None of us do, but we can't save everyone. I'm sorry John, we can't win them all." Replied Elizabeth.

John grumbled, stood up and left, doing a fantastic impression of a sulking Rodney.

-----

John lay on his bed looking up at the ceiling, unable to forget the images of the people he knew they had condemned on that planet. He also couldn't shake the idea that something was being hid from him.

On a whim, he got up and headed for a transporter. He was suddenly very keen to uncover what Elizabeth, and probably Rodney, was hiding. However, he knew that just asking what would not get him the wanted answers.

He took the transporter to a research lab that was hardly used. There, he headed over to the computer interface, and placed his hands on it.

Immersing himself into the computer network, he headed towards the files about the device. Once there, he began to rummage through them. He didn't notice the thin wire surrounding them, representing a program monitoring access and broke cleanly through it, unaware.

Amongst the files, he found one that had been secured. In the real world, he would be unable to access it, but in the system, he could go anywhere.

As soon as he had opened the file, he noticed it contained new information. 'Those who give all will power all.' Attached to the file, along with the original writing, was a note from Elizabeth. 'Sacrifice?'

Suddenly, everything fell into place. John dropped out of the interface so quickly he was momentarily disorientated. At first he just felt annoyed by the lie he had been fed. However, that quickly resolved into determination about what he had to do.

Looking at his watch, it was almost midnight, he decided now was the best time to do this. Taking a detour past one of the armouries, he headed to the gate room.

-----

The men on duty looked up from there screens when they heard John walk in.

"Alright, guys, you're dismissed." He said.

"But..." Started one of the airmen.

"You heard me. Get out of here. That's an order."

They hesitated for a moment, but seeing his expression, they decided now was not the time to enforce protocol. As they passed, he drew a zat' and stunned them.

After making sure neither was seriously hurt, he headed to the main consoles. After making sure he wouldn't be disturbed by sealing the doors to the gate room, he began to set up a few setbacks for anyone following him, but still ensuring the city wouldn't be left defenceless.

As he didn't expect anyone to get through the doors just yet, he didn't notice their presence until he heard their boots tapping on the floor. He looked up to see Rodney standing nearby with the second xZPM in hand. He had placed himself so that John would have to push past him to get to the gate.

John held up the zat' and said, "You won't stop me going."

"No, but I can stop you doing what you're planning to do. You'll need this," he tilted the xZPM, "and don't forget there are two handprints on the interface."

Now it was John's turn to head Rodney off. "Whoa! You can't seriously be... You are not doing this! You're far too important to this expedition."

"And you aren't?" Replied Rodney, refusing to be flattered.

"Pff. They can get another military grunt, but they can't get another genius like you."

"They'll manage. Besides, I can't let my best friend go alone."

Slightly touched by that comment, and seeing the customary Rodney stubbornness, John relented. "Dial the gate. I'm done here."

Rodney nodded and moved over to the DHD. Once he had entered the symbols, he joined John in front of the gate.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely."

With the gate fully active ahead of them, they both stepped through.

-----

Elizabeth, having been made aware immediately that the gate had dialled, paced angrily in front of the locked door. "Are you getting anywhere?" She snapped at Zelenka, who was working furiously with the door controls. "I think I'm almost there."

His implacably calm tone only served to infuriate her more. How could someone be so calm when John and Rodney were heading off to kill themselves.

Suddenly, the door burst open and everyone rushed through. However, when they tried the gate controls, they saw they blocked again. Everything but the shield was locked down.

"How did John do this?" Asked Elizabeth.

"He has always had a special relationship with Atlantis." Replied Zelenka as he worked at lifting the lockout.

"But I secured the file with that translation."

"With Atlantian security?"

"Yes." She replied bitterly, furious with herself. Then, an idea came to mind. "The jumpers!"

"Yes!" Cried Zelenka in return, and he entered a command. "No." He added. "That is locked as well."

Elizabeth cursed in frustration, and then said, "Get me there as fast as you can."

-----

"How long do you think we have?" Asked John as they approached the mountain.

"Well, it'll take at least fifteen minutes to sort out the gate control's, and another ten to sort out the jumper bay doors if they decide to take one. Either way, we'll have at least half an hour once we arrive. Will that be enough?"

"I don't know. I hope so."

John silently agreed. He really didn't want to have to face Elizabeth now. In time she might forgive him for going behind her back, perhaps even understand why, but he didn't think she'd do either just yet.

This was something he had to do. Perhaps she'll see it that way, sometime.

-----

Elizabeth practically cheered when the gate began to dial. The anger from earlier had begun to turn into anxiety, as she considered the possibility that they would be too late.

As she and her team stepped into the sunlight on the other side, Elizabeth set a pace even the airmen had difficulty keeping up. They couldn't be too late. She had to stop him doing something she couldn't bear for him to do.

-----

As he began to set up the controls for the second interface, Rodney noticed a new command on it. Cautiously, he pressed it and heard a hum begin behind him.

John turned to face the doorway and saw a faint blue haze over it. Tentatively reaching out, he felt the distinctive tingle of an Ancient forcefield.

"Will this drain the power?"

Rodney indicated the still disconnected xZPM as an answer, and then continued to set things up."

Elizabeth looked up at the mountain. They could just see the door concealed amongst the rocks. She frowned at the slight tinge around it, and she could have sworn she saw a man in an Atlantian military uniform.

"How long?"

"At this pace? About five, ten minutes..."

"Good..."

-----

John stood away from the door. "They're near. About ten minutes."

"I'll not be finished by then." Said Rodney. He still felt remarkably calm, considering what he planned to do.

"Can I help?"

"Not really. I'm nearly finished, I just need time now"

John nodded and headed back to the door. Elizabeth's team had gone out of sight again. He looked out at the view. He couldn't think of a better place to do this.

-----

Elizabeth, ignoring the protest at the forced march, finally reached the doorway to the device chamber. She walked purposefully towards the door, and shuddered backwards as she hit the forcefield.

As the air cleared, she saw John and Rodney standing at the control panels. They couldn't have missed the crash of the forcefield, but neither showed any inclination to turn.

"John? You can't ignore me. John! Turn around!"

Reluctantly, the man turned to face her. "Elizabeth. Please, go back to Atlantis."

"Not without you two as well."

"This is something i've got to do. You know that."

"Rodney. Please, just lower the forcefield." She went for what she considered to be the weaker target. He didn't even turn around.

"I'm almost done, John."

John nodded, and turned back to Elizabeth. "You won't change our minds."

"There has to be another way. One that won't take you from me. Atlantis still needs you both."

_'Me.' _John picked up the hidden meaning. "Atlantis will manage. Aren't some things worth giving everything for?"

"Nothing is worth losing you two for." Elizabeth placed a hand on the forcefield.

"You will live without us."

"I won't want to..." Elizabeth said, quietly.

Why? Why did she save this for now. Now, when she knows I can't, I won't change my mind. "You'll move on. Consider it a gift to you, to everyone." He placed his hand over Elizabeth's.

"I don't want it." She replied, even quieter.

"I'm finished." Rodney said, after a quiet moment. Elizabeth's usually calm façade was falling apart rapidly.

John didn't answer, but said softly, "Goodbye."

The single word broke down all Elizabeth's reserve. She cried openly, trying to deny what was obviously inevitable.

John turned away, before his resolve disintegrated, and approached the console. Rodney came to his side.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Asked John.

"Definitely." Replied Rodney.

Together, with almost no hesitation, they placed both hands in the imprints on the console.

At first nothing happened. All that could be heard was Elizabeth's sobs, and the hum of the forcefield.

Then, a glow began to form at the base of the device. Slowly, at first, but rapidly accelerating, the light built up until both men were obscured by the brightness. Then, it suddenly peaked, and an energy wave, achingly bright, burst out, accelerating as it went.

In its wake, after eyes had recovered enough to see after the extreme brightness, the entire facility was dark. At first nobody moved. A jumper arrived, and Teyla, Cadman, Beckett and Zelenka joined the crowd of people outside the device.

Eventually, Elizabeth regained the use of her limbs, and, feeling that the forcefield was down, she rushed over to the two men. She got to John's side just as he began to sag, and though she couldn't hold his weight, she at least slowed his descent.

She took his hand, and even then could feel that his usual strength had faded. She put on a weak smile, but tears spotted John's uniform.

Elizabeth looked over to Rodney who had been lain at John's side. Beckett, Cadman and Zelenka were with him.

In her hand, she could feel John leaving fast. She squeezed it, as if she could hold him with her. He tightened his as best he could.

"'Liz'beth." He said, so quietly she was practically leaning on his chest to hear him. "'memb'r. This was w'th do'n'."

"Always." Replied Elizabeth, finally calm in her emotions. Quietly, so nobody else could hear, she said, "I love you."

John smiled, but didn't reply. He squeezed her hand one last time, and then closed his eyes. Elizabeth's breath caught as his slowed, until it stopped with a final, peaceful sigh.

Gently, she lay her head one his chest, as she never had while he had known, and let her tears flow, soaking his already cooling shirt.

Carefully, she felt Zelenka separate her hand from Johns and lift her to her feet. She tried to fight him, but found some comfort in his strength and relented.

"Shh, shh. Just watch." He said, his already fairly heavy accent thick with emotion. He turned her around, forcing her to see the two peaceful forms on the floor. If she hadn't felt John leave, and if she couldn't see that there chests were still, they both merely could have been asleep.

She tried to turn away, but Zelenka gently but firmly made her keep watching. Slowly, a different sort of glow enveloped the two bodies. She had never seen the phenomenon in person, but Elizabeth instantly recognized it for what it was.

The being that was John lightly caressed her cheek, his first and last show of affection towards her. In the instant of contact, she felt a sense of completeness, and love towards her. Then, as quickly as it happened, the moment passed and both glows faded into the plane of the Ascended.

Elizabeth touched her cheek where John had, still damp from her tears, but now the sadness was almost gone. The hole that he had left in her was still there, would remain there forever, but now she understood that it was something neither man could not have done.

Reverentially, two of the airmen collected the clothes left behind. After watching them, she turned to Zelenka and said, "How did you know?"

"How could they not? They gave everything without hesitation, purely on the possibility that it could work. They were not sure, but they did it anyway." Zelenka shrugged, unable to put his certainty into words.

"I just hope they were right."

-----

The Daedalous dropped out of hyperspace near a planet with one of the few remaining hibernating hive ships. The energy wave was only minutes away.

They were right on the fringes of the galaxy. The wave had spent five days getting there and showed no sign of dissipating or slowing down. Caldwall still wasn't convinced of its affectiveness. Admittedly there had been dramatically fewer cullings reported by Teyla's contacts, but Caldwall could think of many reasons why that might be.

He watched the screen monitoring the wave as it approached. A brief, blinding flash filled the bridge as it passed, and Caldwall immediately called for a report on the hive ship.

An image of the area where it had rested appeared on his screen, but showed only empty earth in its place.

Caldwall, glad that the wave had worked, but not from the point of view of giving John and Rodney's death a real morning. All _that_ gave him was a _very_ grudging respect. The task of writing his application for John's job waited for when he returned. Instead, he was merely pleased that there was one less hostile race he would come across.

-----

Elizabeth stood in front of the stargate, a wine glass in hand, and faced the entire expedition gathered before her.

"This is the second time in far too short a period that we have gathered to remember the lives of Leuightenant Colonel John Sheppard and Doctor Rodney McKay. However, this is not a time for sorrow or mourning, for they have not truly left us.

"They have given us, and the rest of the galaxy, freedom from the Wraith forever. That alone is reason enough to rejoice, even though it came at such a high price." She paused and scanned over the crowd. A frown flickered across her face as her gaze passed over Caldwall's face. She had torn his application into many little pieces when it crossed her desk.

"Though that price was high for us, they received the highest reward, as they have ascended to the plane of the Ancients. They proved themselves worthy of the greatest honour I know of, and they have not truly left us.

"And so, I propose a toast. To John and Rodney!"

"John and Rodney." Replied the expedition in unison.


End file.
